Alternate Summons
by Lothahnos
Summary: Just an anthology of one-shots depicting the different familiars that Louise might summon, mainly to get all these ideas out of my head.
1. Blood of the Void

**This is the first in a series of oneshots and drabbles that I've been writing, mainly about Elder Scrolls crossovers. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Blood. Blood is the essence of life; it keeps any living being warm, especially in the frigidly cold province of Skyrim. A single droplet of blood made its way down the woman's neck, which she exposed for her lord. Her eyes were blank. She was enthralled, her mind clouded by the Vampire's Seduction. She let out a moan as she finally passed out, her golden locks pooling around her as she was laid back down on her cot.

The aforementioned vampire sighed as she had received her nightly nourishment and rose to her full height.

"Thank you for the meal," she whispered in a joking manner. The woman then melted into the shadow and left the inn, unnoticed by any of the residents. She then fled from the little town and ran until she reached a river. She sighed again and collapsed on the riverbank. Things were boring now. There were no more world-ending dragons, no more idiotic ancient vampires, and no more egotistical dragonborn to plague the world. Nothing crazy happened anymore. Every night was the same. Sneak, feed, retreat, and repeat. This cycle was completed over and over for the last of what felt like an eternity.

She looked in the reflected water, which remained still and unchanging, much like her life. Her eyes still had that ungodly glow to them. The same eyes that filthy hermit who sacrificed her maidenhood to his god had. The same eyes that widened in fear as she pierced his heart with her cold steel. The same eyes that now just stared blankly into a monotonous existence of survival.

Out from the trees, a bolt of steel shot out at her. She barely dodged in time, the sharp metal cutting her face. It was one of them, one of the renegade Dawnguard bigots who refused to believe that a vampire could be harmless. The man, if such a giant can be called that, stepped out of the thickets, crossbow pointed straight at her.

"Vampire scum! I've been tracking you down for the last three towns. I don't know what you did to Isran, but I know you're up to no good! Now die!"

She scoffed at this, disappointed in herself for letting such a pig-headed human sneak up on her.

"Well I'll tell you the same thing I told him to let me go. One, I don't kill humans, unless they provoke me. Two, I try not to spread my vampirism around. Finally, you are a ignorant fetcher, who should stop living in the past!"

The armored "vampire hunter" simply snorted and tried to pierce her with another crossbow bolt making her roll to the side. Beneath his helmet, the hunter smirked. The arrow exploded in a pulse of electricity, shocking his prey. The vampire grimaced as the uncomfortable feeling of concentrated electricity coursed through her. She fell to the ground, and remained prone. The hunter, consumed by the hubris gained from subduing one of the most powerful vampires in existence, put away his crossbow and pulled out his dagger, fully intent on stabbing her. This proved to be his undoing.

As soon as he was within five paces, she sprung up and knocked him over. The vampire then rolled backwards and pulled her bow, a wicked black bow, lined with glowing red streaks. By the time the ex-Dawnguard member got back on his feet, the vampiric archer had already released an arrow, which dug its barbed tip into his foot. Trapping him to the ground. In a panic, he pulled out his crossbow, but another arrow soared through the air and pierced through his arm. The warrior was sweating profusely under his heavy armor now. The vampire was approaching him now.

"You know, Isran did tell me that I can do whatever I want with idiots like you."

The man was trembling now.

"You want to know something else? There are a few things that I definitely do not like. One, I don't like being attacked, especially on a full stomach. Two, I don't like idiots who can't accept the reality of the world. Finally, I don't like being bored," she said, raising a finger as she listed of her dislikes. "Be glad you only fit into two of those categories. You entertained me enough for me to grant you a swift death."

The last thing the hunter saw was the tip of an arrow his vision went black forever. The vampire sighed again, as she lazily approached the dead hunter. She pulled the arrows out from his body and found that only two of them, the ones that had pierced his foot and his arm, were salvageable. The third one most likely broke breaking a hole through his thick skull. The vampire chuckled to herself.

She then frowned and sat back down on the ground. She was bored again. She stared at the road, her back to the riverbanks, when a loud explosion cracked through the still night. She turned around, and saw one of the most exciting things in a long time. A massive, purple portal formed over the river. She rushed towards it, but stopped before got sucked in to wherever the portal led.

"I should probably leave a note for someone. Wouldn't want people getting paranoid about my disappearance. Also, I should probably stop this damn habit of talking to myself."

She hastily wrote down a note before haphazardly throwing it onto the corpse of the would-be vampire hunter. Without a second's delay, the Daughter of Coldharbour disappeared through the portal, which closed right after she passed through.

 _Dear Isran,_

 _I killed another one of your mistakes. I'm going to go save the world again, probably. Maybe I'll see you later._

 _Love,_

 _Carmilla Bal_

 _-If you are not Isran, you will find him holed up at the old fort near Riften. Please give it to him there._

XXXXX

"Next up, Louise de la Valliere."

A pink-haired girl perked up and calmly walked to the center of a grassy clearing, ignoring the jeers of her fellow students. Today, she'd prove them wrong. She'd prove herself to her family that she was competent mage. Today, she'd finally stop being a failure, or a disappointment. She braced herself before raising her wand, creating a magical circle beneath her.

"My name is Louise Francoise de la Valliere. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, heed my summoning… and bring forth my familiar!" With that chant, Louise flicked her wand up. For a few seconds, nothing happened. She tried to stay calm. The entire clearing was silent, all eyes on her.

An explosion, covering Louise from view, broke that silence. Then one student laughed, causing those around her to laugh, and the people around those people began laughing too.

"What a failure."

"She can't even summon a familiar."

"I bet she blew it up."

"As expected from the Zero."

"Maybe she blew herself up too, and saved her family the shame of sharing her name!"  
"Yeah, you're right. Saves us a lot of trouble."

Suddenly all the smoke cleared, as it was sucked into a massive purple portal that filled up a majority of the clearing. Louise lay by it, disoriented from her explosion. Colbert, worried for his student's safety, rushed to his student's side and pulled her away from the possibly dangerous work of magic. The mass of violet energy started distorting and disappeared as a figure stepped out of it.

The feminine figure was garbed in red tunic with black leather wrapped around the midsection, and black pants. Draped over her head and shoulders was a hood and flowing black cape. All of the students stopped their jeering in favor of staring at the mysterious figure that had appeared from the Zero's spell.

The woman simply looked around, her gaze lingering slightly longer than Louise. From where they stood, the students saw an unhealthy glow emanate from the shadow of the hood, giving her an ominous presence.

" _So which one of you made the magical portal?_ " the woman said, nonchalantly. Her voice was very light, captivating any who listened to it. Unfortunately, she spoke in a strange dialect of language that only one student in the courtyard could understand: Germanian. With only one person giving any response, albeit a non-verbal one, and a very slight one at that, the woman frowned.

" _So which one of you made the magical portal?"_ The woman said, this time in a language, albeit a dead one, that more of the students knew: Ancient Romalian. Although they still gave non-verbal responses, every student stared in the direction of a certain pink-haired girl. The woman noticed this and sauntered over to Louise. The woman bent over, as to level her eyesight with the noble girl's. Louise now had a clear view of her summon's face. The woman was pale, extremely so. She had very regal features, a softly sculpted skin, thinly arched eyebrows, and high cheekbones. Pristine locks of snowy hair, which created a sharp contrast with her black hood and cloak, framed the woman's face. Louise felt very uneasy under the woman's gaze, sharp and curious.

Professor Colbert, as if sensing his student's discomfort, switched places with her. The woman jerked back at this, startled by the sudden change. She stretched back up to her full height and stared at Colbert. She stared intently at him, and shifted into a subtly defensive stance, then she smiled at him.

 _"Will you please step aside? I want to see the little girl again. Her aura feels very familiar to me. I'm absolutely sure she was the one that brought me here,"_ the woman asked in the dead language. Her voice was so alluring that the teacher was almost compelled to comply. Almost.

" _What are your intentions towards her?"_ he asked, responding in the same tongue. _"It is my duty as teacher to make sure my students stay safe."_

A wooden staff appeared in his hands in a burst of flames. The woman pouted at this.

" _You're awfully stiff, you know. I just wanted to see the person who brought me to a new, exciting place,"_ the woman responded with a pout, her childish tone contradicting her regal language. Louise peeked out from behind Colbert. The woman perked up at this, bent around the professor, and reached out with her hand, but was stopped by the fire mage. She pouted again.

" _I'm going to need answers first before I even let you talk to my students,"_ Colbert stated, his voice full of authority. _"What is your name and why is it that you speak in dead tongues?"_

The woman straightened up again and rolled her eyes.

" _My name is Carmilla Bal, and I'm speaking in this because only one of you understood the Nordic tongue. If you want, speak in your own native tongue and there's a chance that I might know it._

.

Carmilla was getting frustrated. She just wanted to look at the pink-haired girl and maybe play with her hair. Her hair was pink. Pink! Then this bald man had to butt in for the "safety of his students." How troublesome.

"This is our native tongue, the tongue of Tristain, which is the land you now reside in," the man stated in a Bretonian dialect.

"Tristain… What an interesting name. Anyways, in case any of you couldn't understand," the woman said, raising her voice so that the rest of the courtyard could hear her. "My name is Carmilla Bal, and I came out of that portal. I guess I'm stuck here for the time being."

"Miss Bal, there was a reason you were brought here, actually," Colbert stated, catching the vampire's attention. He gestured to the pinkette that he had been blocking from view earlier. "Miss Valliere, if you will."

"My name is Louise Francoise de la Valliere, and I was supposed to summon a familiar today," the little girl stated in a cutely regal voice.

"Familiar? I don't see any ghostly wolf here," Carmilla said, looking around. "You must be pretty powerful if you were able to summon another living being instead."

The girl blushed at this. Her teacher spoke up again.

"Miss Bal, I'm not sure how much you know of the familiar summoning ritual, but things other than wolves can be summoned. Look around. Every animal here is a summoned familiar."

The woman did just that. She scanned the courtyard and saw a whole variety of animals from flaming lizards to floating eyeballs. She frowned. She wasn't an animal. She was a proud Daughter of Coldharbour, well at least a proud as one can be, given her circumstances.

"Call me Carmilla. Also, I'm no animal, though. How can I be a familiar?" she stated, any joviality in her voice gone by now, causing a majority of the crowd to flinch.

"All students save for Miss Valliere are to leave. Now," Colbert, sensing the possible danger, commanded in an authoritative voice that none of his students had heard before. When none of the students budged, Colbert raised his staff, flashing flames. The class immediate dispersed at this. "Now, Miss Carmilla, having a human familiar is something that has never been heard of. Since your mind is mostly stronger that any of those beasts, you most likely won't become subservient to-"

Colbert was cut off by Louise, who had pushed past him with a forced bravado.

"Now listen here, familiar! I am the third daughter of the noble house of Valliere, and I demand you give me the respect I deserve," the girl stated, her voice miraculously staying steady.

"Ohh. How cute, but there's three things you must know about me. One, I don't being ordered around. Two, I hate being talked down to. And three, I hate being bored," Carmilla stated, raising a finger each time she listed a point. "You should be very glad that you have brought my so much entertainment today. I usually kill people who match two out of three points on my list. Very well, I shall listen to you, Louise, third daughter of House Valliere."

Louise was at a loss for words, obviously not used to being talked to in such a way. She shook her head and steeled her will before speaking again.

"I want to prove to them all that I have a familiar. Complete the contract with me," the girl stated, before clearing her throat. "I promise life as a familiar will be 'interesting.'"

Carmilla smirked.

"Very well. I'll complete a contract with you. Cast what ever spell you need."

"I need you to bend down. A k-kiss is needed to seal the contract."

Carmilla's smile disappeared as quickly as it had appeared.

"I don't kiss others very freely. I've got some bad experiences with that," she said, shuddering as memories of her time with the Daedric Prince flooded her mind. "If you need a kiss, I'm sure my right hand will be more than enough."

She held out her right hand, which Louise hesitantly took.

"Pentagons of the five elemental powers, grant your blessings upon this woman, and bind her as my familiar." With that aria, Louise sealed the contract by planting her lips onto the posterior of the woman's hand.

Her hand felt like it was catching on fire. Pain, more than any other she had endured in these past couple millennia inundated her right hand. She grit her teeth as runes started to form where her summoner had kissed her. And just like that, the pain disappeared, leaving no residual feelings behind.

"How interesting… So, what now, oh conjuror?" she said, her playful tone returning.

"I am your master now, Familiar, you will refer to me as such," the young mage said curtly, still slightly overwhelmed by what had just happened. None of the animals had cried out in pain after all. "We will go back to my room now. The sun has already set."

The woman frowned, both at being called something other than her name and from having to rest so early today. As she followed her summoner out, a sharp pain stung at her side, right underneath her ribs. There was a steel bolt embedded in her flesh. She knew she was forgetting something when she ran through the portal.

"Hey Little Louise," she muttered, wincing from both the pain and Louise's indignant screeches. "I think I've lost quite a bit of blood today."

The grass around her was stained with patches of the crimson liquid. The last thing Carmilla saw before she passed out was her worried conjuror and the professor running at her with worried look in their eyes.

.

Louise was worried. Her familiar had passed out. Professor Colbert helped her pick up the unconscious woman, who was already dangerously cold to the touch and rushed over to the infirmary. Even more confusingly the wound had already started closing when the bolt was pulled out. The nurses, worried that Carmilla had suffered some head trauma, pulled off her hood. The pale woman had long white hair that reached her shoulders. Some parts of her hair were braided and pulled back. Louise stared at her familiar in awe. She really was a beautiful familiar. That awe turned to a mixture of disgust and primal fear when Louise saw the woman's exposed ears. They did not have rounded tips like normal humans. They were pointed, like an elf. Carmilla Bal, Louise's familiar, was without a doubt, an elf. Half of the nurses had passed out at this point. The other half fled in fear.

During all of the commotion, Carmilla woke up. She yawned and stretched, as though she was just taking a nap. She then frowned at all of the noise the nurses were making.

"What's wrong? Can't a woman just take a nap in peace?" she asked, scratching her head. "Huh? Who took off my hood? Is the sun down already?"

She got out of her bed and walked over to the nearest window.

"The moons are aligned differently. You must have taken me further than I thought, Little Louise," she stated as she stared out of the window. She paused waiting for an indignant response from retreat, but it never came. She turned around to face Louise. "Little Louise? You're being more quiet than usual."

Louise muttered something back, her eyes wide and skin pale. Carmilla leaned closer, causing Louise to back up. Carmilla pouted.

"I said, that you're an e-elf! Why are you here? What do you want? Are you going to kill all of us?" Louise stated, struggling to contain her fear.

"Elf? Oh. I guess I am. I'm a Snow Elf, actually. One of the last of my kind," Carmilla responded, proudly. When Louise remained unchanged, Carmilla frowned. Perhaps elves here were treated like they were back in Windhelm. "Is there a problem with my being an elf?"

Louise froze up at this, sensing the waves of enmity rolling off of the Snow Elf.

"N-no. Of course not. It's just that elves are not common outside of the Elven lands to the far east. Elves are also known to be a little…" the pinkette trailed off.

"A little what? Please, continue. I would very much like to hear the common view on elves here."

Louise glanced around the infirmary, but stiffened when she saw that it had been completely vacated. The nurses had taken their unconscious colleagues and fled. Professor Colbert was most likely reporting to the Headmaster.

"W-well. You see, elves are known to be ardent haters of humans. They're not that well liked."

Carmilla's oppressive aura disappeared, replaced by heavy regret.

"Oh. Well, I'm not like that. I like to believe that I am more open-minded than my elven brethren. I didn't even take part in the genocides."

"G-genocides?" Louise gulped.

"Well, back where I'm from, my people committed genocide on all the humans in the area out of fear of being outnumbered. With what happened to them, I guess they got what they deserved."

"What is your homeland called?" Louise asked, much of her fear replaced by scholarly curiosity.

"I suppose I'm from the Sommerset Isles, but my people were exiled to the arctic land of Skyrim. I was actually among the first group of exiles. I've traveled through a lot of Tamriel, but most recently, I've been in Skyrim," Carmilla said matter-of-factly.

Louise stared back with a confused expression.

"Familiar, I haven't heard of any of these places that you just listed."

"I guess I was taken to lands further than I once thought. I guess we should-"

Professor Colbert entered the room at this point, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"Sorry if I'm interrupting anything. I just received news that Miss Carmilla had awoken. The headmaster would like to-" Colbert cut himself of this time when he saw Carmilla without her hood. "Miss Valliere, get behind me right now."

Before anything else could be done, the teacher dashed towards the pair and placed himself between his student and the possible threat. Carmilla sighed resignedly at this. Louise, sensing her summon's very obvious discomfort, stepped from around the teacher.

"It's okay, professor. The commoner doesn't mean any harm after all. She's shown that she's one of the nicer members of her race," Louise said with a slight smile that she quickly replaced with a haughtier one. Carmilla tilted her head at this.

" If that's the case then, the headmaster would like to see the two of you," the Professor said as he wearily glanced at the elf. "I will walk between you two. Just in case."

Louise frowned slightly. Carmilla, on the other hand, merely smirked.

"My, my. You really are more like me than I had thought, Mr. Teacher," the elf playfully said as she skipped to Colbert's side. "I was just about to suggest visiting who ever is in charge."

"Also, Miss Carmilla, I think you should put your hood back on. Explaining your situation on the way would take up too much time."

Carmilla muttered about the moon already being out, but nonetheless complied, pulling her hood over her head. The trio then left the library. The students that they passed gave them either cordial greetings or confused glances.

"Hey, Mr. Teacher," Carmilla whispered, her playful nature peaking out. "I get that I have to hide my identity to prevent an uprising, but what of the nurses?"

"My name," Colbert said, adding a slight pause, "Is Jean Colbert, or Professor Colbert, as my students call me. And I'll inform the headmaster about the nurses."

Carmilla was lucky that she enough of her life studying to be able to make mental maps of the places she had been. The various floors and academy looked so similar as the trio ascended to the headmaster's office that it was a wonder that any student was able to find their way around the place. They finally reached the headmaster's office, which was a single room at the very top of a tower.

"Why headmasters always need their offices to be so separated from the rest of the academy is beyond me," the hooded woman mumbled.

The room was modest. The walls were lined with bookshelves cluttered with books and other magical trinkets. Carmilla stared around, filled to the brim with childlike curiosity before she lost interest and informally slouched into the nearest chair. She then stared intently at the bearded man sat behind the desk. Colbert scratched the back of his head in an embarrassed man.

"Headmaster, I have brought Miss Valliere and her familiar, just as you requested."

The old man looked at his employee with an amused twinkle in his eyes before responding.

"When I said to bring Miss Valliere and her familiar before me, I wasn't expecting you to bring them so soon. I was hoping that something more interesting or noteworthy would happen first."

"Yes sir… about that," the balding man stated, slightly nervously. "Miss Valliere, if you would."

Louise nodded.

"Familiar, remove your hood."

The familiar frowned at being called such a demeaning title, but complied regardless. Osmond stared at her with hints of lechery staining his gaze, before he noticed her ears. His eyebrows rose slightly and his mouth creased downwards.

"This familiar is an elf," he stated, matter-of-factly. He leaned forward, as to get a better view. "Though, I have never heard of any elf with such luminescent eyes. Perhaps you are something more, Miss Familiar?"

Carmilla smirked.

"I like you already, Mr. Headmaster. I guess you are right. I'm more. My name is Carmilla Bal. I am a Snow Elf, one of the last of my kind, hailing from the land of Tamriel. I've also been fortunate, or unfortunate enough to have been alive for over four thousand years," she said, smiling at the gasps that escaped from the two younger occupants in the room. "Before any of you say anything, that is quite common among the Mer, or Elven, folk, though not many survive long due to battle or disease."

"W-What? Over four thousand years and you were have never been touched by disease or fallen in battle? That's absurd, no matter what you are!" Louise, who had finally found her voice, exclaimed. Carmilla pouted.

"Come one, Little Louise. Can't I have some dramatic flair? A long pause could have let me build suspense, or maybe you could have figured it out for yourself," the Tamrielian teased, grinning widely. "I'm sure Mr. Teacher here and Mr. Headmaster have already figured out."

The dim mixture of moonlight and torchlight reflected off of the pale woman's face, making her teeth shine slightly. Upon closer inspection, her canines were revealed to be elongated and sharpened significantly. Carmilla was an immortal being by all rights. She healed rapidly from her injuries. She was untouched by disease for at least four millennia. She hated sunlight and often tried to cover herself in shadows. She had inhuman, perhaps even not elven, eyes. There was no doubt about it. Louise's skin tone almost rivaled Carmilla's at this point.

"You're a v-vampire," she stated numbly. "That's why you've never had a disease."  
"Well, technically, the people from my land label vampirism as a disease in and of itself. Though even in terms of vampirism, I'm a special case. You should consider yourselves lucky," the newly revealed vampire stated addressing all of the occupants of the room. "It's not every day that you get to meet one of the first ever vampires, after all, and a 'pure one' at that."

The room was met with deafening silence. Osmond stared at her curiously. Colbert took on a guarded stance. Louise paled even more, if such a thing was possible. The headmaster was the first to verbally react.

"I'm curious: what do you mean by 'pure'?"

"I guess I wasn't really turned into a vampire by another."

"And what you mean by that?" the old mage continued.

"You could say that I gained my current state of being from the source. As for what that source is and how I reached it, I would rather not say," Carmilla responded, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Alright then. That should be enough information for now. Carmilla, do not hesitate to come visit me if you need anything, though I'm sure both Miss Valliere and Professor Colbert can help you too," the headmaster said, his eyes discreetly roaming the vampire's figure. "You are all dismissed. Rest for the night. Two of you have classes to attend tomorrow."

The three then left the office and soon parted ways to go to their respective sleeping quarters. It was just Louise and Carmilla wandering the now empty hallways, their footsteps echoing in the silence. Louise walked two paces ahead of Carmilla, but snuck glances back at the woman as they walked. They soon reached Louise's living quarters, a relatively small, but almost excessively opulent room. In the center of the room was a garish four-poster bed. There was a desk against the wall with a window and a large closet on the opposite side of the room. Crammed in the space next to the desk was a shoddily made hay pile.

"I assume that the sad little hay pile was meant for your familiar," Carmilla commented. Louise merely nodded mutely. "Well I just want you know that I'm not really one for sleeping in such sad states."

"Do you want a coffin then," Louise responded jokingly as she tried to ease any tension. Carmilla shook her head.

"I'm not _that_ kind of vampire, you know," the white-haired woman responded, giggling her usual lilting giggle. "I'm not even that tired, to be honest."

"W-well, if that's the case then you might as well make yourself useful and clean these for me," the student responded, throwing a pile of dirty laundry at the vampire. Externally, Louise was trying her damned hardest to channel her mother's 'Rule of Steel.' Internally, she was sweating, hoping she had done nothing to warrant her death. Fortunately, rather than being met with vicious fangs, she was met with peals of laughter.

"You really are an interesting girl, Little Louise," Carmilla responded as she picked up the pile.

"As my familiar, and as a commoner, it should be your duty to serve a noble such as myself anyway," Louise forced out, before pausing. "You are a commoner, right?"

Carmilla placed her free hand on her chin, pondering her life thus far.

"I guess you're right. I mean, even among other elves, I was ostracized for being too lenient towards the humans," she said, as she straightened up, her chin held high. "I, Carmilla Bal, have never experienced even the slightest modicum of aristocracy in my 4000 years life, or unlife."

"That's not something to be proud of, Familiar!" Louise screamed back, her previous fear completely forgotten. Carmilla just hummed back.

"What ever," she said, waving off Louise's anger. She placed the pile of dirty clothes on the ground and glanced down at her own clothing. She pulled some of the fabric closer to her face and quickly scrunched her face in disgust. "I think I should wash my clothes too."

The Snow Elf started to disrobe on the spot, her removing the cloak and leather from her person, leaving her in only a red tunic and black pants. As she started to pull off the tunic, Louise interjected.

"Familiar! What are you doing?" she asked, blushing profusely.

"I'm changing. I can't really wash my clothing while I'm still wearing it, right?" the vampire responded, as she continued to strip, leaving her chest bare save for a beige strip of cloth wrapped around her chest. Then, she took off her boots, throwing them into the corner of the room, and pulled off her pants, leaving her smooth, pale legs bare as well, with just matching undergarments and a brown satchel to protect her modesty. "You know, this country is pretty warm. In Skyrim, stripping down to this level would be a death wish for mortals."

Louise was now a bright pink and was vehemently covering her eyes. The woman untied her hair, and let it fall freely, as to cover her pointed ears,

"Familiar, show some modesty!" she ordered as she turned her back to the vampire. When she turned around, her familiar was already gone, no doubt wandering the halls of the castle half-naked.

Carmilla was doing just that. As her bare feet padded the cold stone floor, she idly wondered where she could go clean the bundle in her arms. As if on cue, she ran into a girl wearing a black and white uniform, not unlike the one described in that Argonian book from her homeland.

"Excuse me," she called out to the girl, who turned around and flushed at the elf's current attire, or lack thereof. Carmilla was unfazed by this. "Do you know where I can go to clean this? Is there a stream nearby or something?"

The girl squeaked before looking away with a heavy blush. Carmilla heard heavy breathing before the girl looked back up, looking only at the vampire's eyes.

"Oh, I can show you where. I'm actually on my way to do some laundry right now," the maid said, gesturing to the basket of cloth in her hands.

"You got a basket? That's so cool. I've been dropping my 'Master's' undergarments over and over on the way here," the vampire said, pouting. The maid looked at her, obviously confused.

"Master? Do you work for the school too? Are you new?"

"I don't work for the castle, sorry. I guess I kind of work underneath Louise Francoise de la Valliere."

"Oh. Okay then. Aren't you cold, though? Your master couldn't even supply you with clothing?" the maid said, her voice tinged with worry for her fellow commoner and disgust for the noble's callous attitude. The white-head simply stared blankly at the maid before looking down at her body.

"Cold? No, I'm fine. My homeland is much colder than this anyways. Thanks for worrying though, Miss Maid. Do you mind telling me your name? Also, can we keep going? My 'master' probably has more things for me to do. We can talk more on the way."

"Of course," the maid responded. "I almost forgot about the laundry. My name is Siesta. And you?"

"I'm Carmilla Bal. It's a pleasure to meet you, Siesta."

"Here, just put your bundle in my basket. We'll separate the clothes later."

"You know, I'm really starting to like you, Siesta."

The two walked, conversing casually, until they reached a courtyard furnished with several water basins.

"Carmilla, I'll just wash your master's clothing for you. It's my job to do so, anyways," Siesta stated, eliciting a gentle smile from her companion. "If you don't mind, will you keep me company tonight? I rather enjoy being around you."

"Sure, sure. You're probably one of my favorite people of this land so far. I find you rather cute," Carmilla responded, without a hint of hesitation or shame. Siesta blushed at this, looking down at her feet.

" Thank you, Carmilla. I'm glad that we can be friends," Siesta replied, still not making eye contact. The two then slipped into a comfortable silence.

"Hey Siesta, you don't like nobles, huh?" Carmilla said nonchalantly, breaking the silence. Siesta sputtered a bit before regaining her composure. She sighed and looked around, to make sure there was no one else around.

"No, I can't really say that I do. I mean, I don't think any of us commoners do, and with good reason. The nobles claim it's their duty to lead and protect us, but they treat us like animals. Everyday, a commoner man get's beaten for a made up reason, and a commoner girl gets raped, to satiate some noble's lust. There's no justice in the system. It's always our fault. The nobles are infallible, much superior than ants like us," Siesta said, her scrubbing increasing in fervor and her voice rising in volume as she continued. "They just claim that they're "Brimir's chosen" to justify everything, that since they have magic, they're automatically worth a thousand of us!"

"So your nobles earn their role by right of blood?" Carmilla asked. Siesta nodded. "That's stupid. I mean, in my homeland, there were Jarls, rulers of the holds, or regions, that passed down the role hereditarily, but each hold had a court of Thanes, people who earned their position by proving that they were able to better the lives of the citizens of the hold."

"That sounds nice… I wish our nobility was more like that."

Carmilla laughed again, a much crueler laughter than usual.

"I don't. I think the idea of nobility is only good in theory. All of the corruption and greed always ruins the lives of at least one group of people in every society that I've observed thus far."

Siesta, due to her lack of education as a commoner, couldn't form an adequate response and opted to remain silent. She still couldn't comfortably look at her friend, due to Carmilla's lack of clothing, so she just stared down at the wet clothing in her hands. The scantily clad woman, sensing the discomfort permeating the air, shook her head and started rummaging through the pack and took out a tightly folded square of black cloth.

"I almost forgot about this," she said as she unfurled the black cloth, revealing a two-layered dress. Siesta looked away and heard rustling. When the maid looked back up, her new friend was garbed in a black and gray long-sleeved, ankle-length dress. "I haven't actually worn a dress in a while. It feels a little weird to be honest."

Siesta reached into the basket, but frowned when her hand met air.

"Wow," You washed and hung them all already!" the pale woman exclaimed. "You're a really impressive person, Siesta! There has to be some kind of trick to that. Can I see your hands?"

Without waiting for an answer, Carmilla bounded over to the maid and took both of Siesta's hands in her own. Siesta blushed at this. The foreigner's hands were very cold, but inexplicably soothing at the same time. Siesta quickly withdrew her hands and stepped back.

"I'm sorry Carmilla, but I have to go now," the girl curtly said as she ran off in the opposite direction. Carmilla just stood there and scratched her head. She surveyed the courtyard and saw that all of the clothing had already been hung up to dry.

"Wow, that girl works fast," the woman exclaimed.

"What should I do now," she asked, looking around. "I should start by not talking to myself, then go explore!"

Carmilla pulled on a black cowl before running out of the room, giggling slightly. It was good to be so free again. As she traversed the winding hallways, the vampire subconsciously mapped the building. By the time she had made mental map for a majority of the school the sun was starting to rise. The hooded woman rushed back up to her summoner's quarters, arriving just as the sun had risen.

She walked over to the pinkette's bed and shook her gently.

"Hey Little Louise, the sun's up. You better wake up or else you be late to class," Carmilla said, almost sang, to the sleeping girl, who was starting to wake.

"Wha… Who are you?" the half-asleep teen yawned. She suddenly jerked awake. "Who are you, and what are you doing in my room!?"

The vampire pouted at this.

"I'm Carmilla, Carmilla Bal. I went through your portal yesterday. Also, I'm the elven vampire that you seemed so scared of yesterday," she responded nonchalantly. At the mention of the words "elven" and "vampire," Louise stiffened considerably.

"Oh, that's right. You're my familiar," Louise stated, forcing on an air of haughtiness. "I might as well make use of you. You seemed to get yourself dressed pretty well. Why don't you do the same for me? Go fetch my uniform and underwear."

"Ohhh! You're going to be my little human doll for the day? Do I get to dress you up and everything too?" Carmilla responded, barely restraining her mirth.

"Errr. I guess that's right, but I'm not a doll! Got it?"

Carmilla frowned.

"Go do it yourself then. I don't want to play with a bad toy. That's no fun," she said as she walked out of the door, slamming it behind her. From the other side of the door, she heard several indignant screeches and thumps. Ten minutes later, Louise exited the room in a huff, her hair sloppily groomed. The student looked over at her familiar with an angry glare in her eyes.

"You should be punished, Familiar!" Louise ground out. "No breakfast for you today!"

Carmilla just shrugged.

"Where are we going today, Little Louise?"  
"Stop calling me that. I summoned you. Call me Master!"

The snow elf stared at her summoner for a while, as if in deep contemplation.

"No thanks. I'm not bowing down to anyone without a reason, and do you want to hear a secret?" she leaned in, close enough for the younger girl to feel her cool breath, making Louise blush lightly. "No one's ever given me a good reason."

Carmilla laughed, making the Tristanian mage frown deeply.

"Fine, I'll punish you later," she said, crossing her arms over her flat chest. "I'm going to go eat breakfast now."

The two silently walked to the cafeteria. Carmilla glanced around innocently, smiling at any students who passed them. Louise walked in silence, frowning any time a student scoffed at her familiar.

What a wonderful adventure this would be.


	2. Frozen Voids

**So, I wrote this up in like an hour after a pretty decent win streak in MKX. I think the story makes it pretty obvious who I main. Anyways, there's not a snowball's chance in hell that this will ever become a full story for several reasons.**

 **a) It would be all fighting, which in itself is rather dull to write and to read.**

 **b) There would be little to no chance at interesting character interactions and growth, especially with how the cyborgs are in MKX.**

* * *

Unit LK-52O held its target, an unnamed shaolin monk, by the throat. The martial artist let out a groan as the cyborg threw him back, letting him sway listlessly from side to side. The robot then boosted itself into the air and used its thrusters to propel its feet into him, knocking the monk over and freezing him once he hit the ground. Despite having made contact with the ground, the cyborg's leg thrusters continued to push the two forward, using the man's frozen body as a morbid snowboard, facilitating their movement along the rough ground.

Suddenly, a portal opened up – too quickly for the cyborg to respond – and engulfed the two combatants into the Void.

XXXXXXX

"Next up, Louise de la Valliere."

A pink-haired girl perked up and calmly walked to the center of a grassy clearing, ignoring the jeers of her fellow students. Today, she'd prove them wrong. She'd prove herself to her family that she was competent mage. Today, she'd finally stop being a failure, or a disappointment. She braced herself before raising her wand, creating a magical circle beneath her.

"My name is Louise Francoise de la Valliere. Pentagon of the five elemental powers, heed my summoning… and bring forth my familiar!" With that chant, Louise flicked her wand up. For a few seconds, nothing happened. She tried to stay calm. The entire clearing was silent, all eyes on her.

Instead of the expected explosion, the empty space in front of the Zero and her fellow students tore open in an ominous, swirling mass of purple energy that seemed to suck the light from its surroundings. The silence was further broken when something, or someone, slid out of the portal at alarming speeds. The tear closed immediately, allowing for the students to see the gruesome site of a heavily armored knight sliding out on a mass of ice. Suddenly, the metal man flipped over, kicking up with his left foot and separating the ice into two chunks. The more misshapen chunked thawed out to reveal the mutilated body of what used to be a man. The pristinely cared for grass was stained with blood and the crisp air was tainted with the coppery scent of blood.

A majority of the students vomited at the brutal display, while the remainder watched with a mixture of awe and weariness as the metal man landed on his hands and flipped over, in a perfect arc, onto his feet. The eye-slots of his strange helm glowed with an otherworldly light, fluorescent and blue. The lights immediately locked onto the pink haired Louise, who was still stood slightly apart from the rest of the crowd. Before anyone could step forward to defend her, spike of ice, surrounded by a biting haze, sprouted between her and the crowd, barring both escape and entrance.

"You," the summon began, its voice warbled by it's metallic mask. "You are the one who brought me here."

It crossed its right arm over its chest, placing its fits on its left pectoral.

"I am LK-52O, ninja of the Tekunin clan, formerly the Lin-Kuei known as 'Sub Zero," the thing continued. "You have called me here for a reason, undoubtedly for a contract."

At the mention of contract, Louise perked up, and held her chin slightly higher.

"C-correct. I have summoned you here to form a contract with you. You are to act as my familiar, who will serve and defend me," she stated regally, much to the surprise of her classmates. The metal-covered man stared down at her for several seconds, his arms now at his side, before nodding.

"I understand. It is a long-term contract then. I shall perform to the best of my ability and bring renown to the Tekunin," he said moving to stand beside Louise. "Is there anything else needed? I expect my fees to be paid once the contract is complete."

"Errr," Louise began, staring down at the mangled remain of the metal man's opponent. "Yes. I require contact with your skin. Remove your armor."

There was a pause.

"Impossible. My armor plating makes up a majority of my cybernetic enhancements. Removing them would leave both you and me vulnerable to the variables in the vicinity. Furthermore, contact with my organic components is not recommended for my health."

Louise paused as she tried to process any of the foreign words that spouted from her soon-to-be familiar. With another glance at the bloodied mess melting into the grass, she pushed down the frustration boiling up from the pits of her stomach.

"So, are you a golem of sorts then?"

The girl flinched when the spikes of ice surrounding her and her familiar crackled and hardened.

"You are not… incorrect. That is a rather simple way of describing myself. I am a cyborg, a machine with human components, improved to reach my maximum potential as a kombatant."

"So…" the girl trailed off, her eyes wandering their icy cage. "We have a contract to confirm, right? Please, give me your hand."

The mechanical man simply nodded and held out his left hand for Louise, who took it with both hands, subconsciously flinching at the biting cold texture.

"Pentagons of the five elemental powers, grant your blessings upon this being, and bind it as my familiar," she incanted before pressing her lips against the back of his hand. Runes etched into the metal plating and glowed bright blue. Sparks flew from the metallic man as he began to spasm.

Everyone gasped as the icy cage shattered, littering the grassy field with tiny crystals of ice that rapidly melted. Before they could rush at their classmate, and summoner of the "ice golem," the teacher dismissed them back to their dorms, telling them to spend the remainder of their day familiarizing themselves with their summons. With that message, the teacher also left, towards the teachers' quarters.

Louise followed the pack, separately as usual, with her new familiar following behind her. On the way back, she gestured toward a courtyard where several magical animals were seen resting.

"This is the Familiar's Courtyard. You are to report here when I am in class."

"I am not sure if this is the best idea. I will not be able to sufficiently ensure your safety if I am not in the same vicinity as you."

"You will do as I say. You are the one who took my contract, after all," she said as she opened a door with a huff. "These are my chambers. I will be sleeping in the bed. You may have the hay stack over there."

She gestured at a shoddily made pile of hay in the corner of the room. LK-52O looked at it before grabbing the hay, which froze when he touched it, and threw it out the window. Louise yelped and was about to reprimand her familiar, but was swiftly cut off.

"This bedding is unnecessary. I do not require sleep and rest in an upright position."

Louise simply growled before throwing a pile of clothes at her familiar before beckoning it to follow her.

"Follow me. I need those clothes cleaned."

The cyborg simply looked at the clothes in his arms before nodding and following along.

XXXXXXX

"If you refuse to apologize, then fight me, Familiar of the Zero! I, Guiche, shall crush you for sullying my name and making these fair maidens unhappy," the blonde fop proclaimed as he waved his rose wand about. "Meet me at the Vestri Courtyard, lest you wish to sully the name of your Master through your dishonor."

LK-52O scoffed at the idea of honor, but followed nonetheless, as a hit to his client's name might increase the danger she would be exposed to.

After passing through several bustled hallways, the two had garnered a sizeable following. Eventually, they stood opposite to each other in a large courtyard, surrounded by a gaggle of students.

"I am Guiche the Bronze, and I will give you the privilege of dueling me this day."

"You will have the privilege of defeat at my hands this day, fool," the cybernetic ninja responded, pulling his arms into a ready position.

Louise rushed into the courtyard, Siesta in tow, right before the two could begin their duel.

"Familiar! What do you think you are doing?"

"This fool here has challenged me to a duel. I saw no reason to decline."

"He's a noble! No matter how strong you are, you are still just a golem. You don't have a damn chance against him."

"You might want to listen to your master, foolish metal man," Guiche butted in. "There's no way anything summoned by a failure like her would be able to do much anyways."

Louise narrowed her eyes at this. She looked over to her familiar, who was looking at her intently.

"Familiar, if I were to tell you that Guiche had the ability to conjure several of his own metal golems, what would you say your chances at winning are?"

The cybernetic assassin stayed silent for several seconds, gazing at Guiche, who flinched, with glowing eyes, before answering.

"Based on the given information and what my scanners were able to read about this Guiche, I would estimate a 87% chance at winning and a 95% chance at minor damages."

Louise cupped her chin, pondering how those odds played into her own favor, before looking back up at her familiar.

"Fight him, Familiar. Defend my honor," she said with a cruel glint in her eyes.

LK-52O crossed his right arm over his chest and bowed before turning back at Guiche, who had been waiting impatiently through this bizarre exchange. The noble grinned at what he thought to be an easy victory.

"Then let this duel begin," he flamboyantly cried out with a flick of his rose-themed wand. "Destroy this fool, my Valkyries!"

Three petals fluttered from his rose, sprouting into turquoise, distinctly feminine, automatons sporting dangerously sharp spears, all pointed directly at the ex-Lin Kuei.

Before the Valkyries had a chance to move, the familiar released a burst of frozen energy from his chest, freezing one of the enemy golems solid and coating the other two in an unhealthy amount of frost. He immediately dashed forward, using the frozen construct as a bludgeon to savagely beat down one of the others.

In this time, the other Valkyrie had thawed and thrust its spear at his chest. The batted the spear aside and followed through with three rapid punches and a fourth powerful one, sending the mass of turquoise metal careening to the ground and shattering it. Guiche, in a panic, conjured up 6 more golems, this time armed with a variety of weapons from heavy maces to dual blades. They immediately rushed at the cyborg, who typed onto his wrist, making a robotic orb fly from his back.

Instead of rushing forward like before, he simply slammed his fist into the ground, the hovering orb shooting a beam of blue light into his hand. Spikes of ice burst around him, piercing and shredding the golems into tiny pieces. He then approached Guiche, who tripped and fell onto his behind in his panicked retreat.

Guiche cried in fear as an unnaturally cold hand wrapped around his neck. Both Guiche and the cyborg looked over at Louise, who seemed quite shocked herself.

"What should I do with him, master? He seems to have run out of whatever power he had been using to summon those creatures."

Louise stared blankly at Guiche, who stared back with pleading eyes. She remembered all the times that her classmate had mercilessly ridiculed her, but also noted that his father was a well-respected noble.

"Let him live…"

Guiche let out a relieved sigh.

"But make him remember not to mock me or my familiar ever again."

Louise smirked at Guiche's horrified expression.

"As you command," LK-52O said, turning back to Guiche. Guiche screamed as the blue glow intensified and frost spread across his body. His screams were cut short as the contracted assassin flipped him over in a wide arc, smashing his icy prison, as well as several bones, with a slam.

The last thing Guiche saw before he lost consciousness was the bottom on the familiar's metal foot.


	3. A Void of Endless Doom

**Hello! Lothahnos here with a forewarning. This story was conceived under the light influence of alcohol. A friend of mine challenged me to try to write a serious story using a character from an series of games we played when we were younger. The character I chose was Sepulchure, the primary antagonist and overall badass from the online games Dragonfable and Adventure Quest Worlds. I admit, I still really enjoyed working with what little information I was able to scrounge up about the character. This one-shot is a disruptive narrative, highlighting only certain parts of what would otherwise be a much longer story. I'm not sure whether or not I would ever make this a full story, but it was an interesting experience for me regardless. Also, to my Vaettr readers out there, chapter 8 is in the works, so chapter 7 should be out in no time, I promise.**

* * *

Valen, or Sepulchure, as he was now more commonly known, had no idea what to expect after getting his doom heart torn out not once, but twice by that insipidly arrogant whelp, Drakath. For starters, his mind felt clearer, much clearer than it was for many years. There was no Necrotic Sword of Doom tethered to his mind and soul, no incessant voice influencing his thoughts and decisions. Other than that, death after un-life consisted of falling through an endless void and nothing else.

Like an abrupt stab in the tedium his existence had become, the feared Doomknight and self-proclaimed Champion of Darkness heard a voice, decidedly young and feminine, calling out to him. He somehow drifted towards the voice, and reveled in the sight of his surroundings changing around him. Endless blackness faded into a more vibrant and colorful world.

By instinct, the warrior tucked his body in and rolled into an elegant kneel as his world solidified. He looked up, through the visor of his helmet and stared into the eyes of a young girl, who stared back at him with a mixture of awe, fear, and arrogance. Subconsciously, the girl was overlapped with the image of a redheaded teenager, garbed in wicked crimson armor. He shook his head and began to speak.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Louise looked down at the being that seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Unlike the other familiars, which appeared in bursts of light or other elements, this entity simply sprung from her own shadow, cast out in front of her by the morning sun. She internally cheered at the aspect of performing magic that didn't involve any explosions.

She glanced back down at the knight, and was slightly intimidated by the design of his armor. He was armed in a deep crimson armor, accented with blood-red trimmings. Spikes adorned the various plating, with four wickedly curved prongs jutting from his pauldrons. Some sort of modified demonic skull with jagged goat horns covered his head, save for his mostly-covered mouth and thick tufts of red fur lined his collar and the back of his head. His eyes, despite being shadowed by his helmet, still emitted a faint, carmine glow.

She took a step back by instinct, but immediately crushed her trepidation and stepped forward again, making eye contact with the knight.

"So you are the one who called me here?" he said, breaking the tense silence.

His voice was deep, smooth, and somewhat regal.

"Th-that is correct. I am Louise de la Vallière, mage-in-training and third daughter of the prestigious Vallière family."

He smirked before rising up to his feet, towering over everyone else in the clearing.

"I am Valen Pulchure, also called Sepulchure, general of the Shadowscythe and late Champion of Darkness," he replied, ruby wisps of energy flowing from his visor. The sky darkened significantly at his proclamation, causing a wave of whispers to pass through the circling crowd of students.

Valen had the urge to pound his head when a rush of information filled his mind once the girl began to speak. He smiled at her self-proclamation and responded with his own. He decided that he liked this girl. She reminded him so much of his daughter, Gravelyn. He didn't even resist when she solidified his bond to her with a short aria and a kiss to the bottom of his jaw. He smirked and patted her head, much to her chagrin.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Valen followed his "master" as she led him through the bustling town, the villagers giving the two a wide berth at the sight of his Armor of Doom. She had decided to reward him with a weapon after his victory in the duel against that fop of a mage, whose name he didn't bother to remember. He mentally scoffed at the remembrance of that fight, if the confrontation could even be labeled as such. The child had done nothing but conjure several flimsy metal automatons that Valen was able to tear apart with his clawed gauntlets.

He was once again annoyingly jolted from his thoughts when Louise beckoned him over to a door that he quickly opened for her. He wandered off to find his own weapon when some resplendent, vestigial hunk of metal that resembled a great sword enraptured Louise. There was a rattling noise in the corner of the shop that caught his attention.

Upon closer inspection, Valen saw a shaking sword stuffed into a barrel with other rusty scraps of metal. The Doomknight pulled it out and was met by loud yelling, presumably from the hilt of his sword. He smirked at the sheer serendipity of the situation. He always ended up with a sentient, magical sword. Always.

"Louise, I will take this one," he called out, taking several practice swings with the weapon, which, much to his delight, felt comfortable. She dropped bits of copper and silver into the vendor's hand and walked out of the shop, secretly satisfied that her familiar helped save some of her money, but outwardly embarrassed that he had chosen such a pathetic looking weapon.

The journey back to the castle was quiet, up until Louise voiced her insecurities.

"Familiar," she said, but quickly cut herself off at her familiar's growl.

" _Sir Valen,"_ she corrected. "Why did you choose the worst weapon in the shop?"

Valen laughed, making Louise scowl lightly.

"Louise, this weapon is indubitably the most powerful weapon in the shop, if not the whole city," he replied, echoed by affirmations from the sword itself. The young mage scrutinized the weapon in question, which barked some rude words back at her, making her scowl deepen. Valen stopped and gave the sword an elegant twirl.

"This sword, Derfflinger, is a magical, sentient blade, and from personal experience, talking weapons are always the strongest," he began, making the sword cheer and boast of its greatness. "Furthermore, whatever metal was used to make this blade is extremely adaptable and receptive to magic."

He quickly surveyed the surrounding area and noted that they had lost their previous stalker. Ruby wisps of power, the very same that flowed from his eyes during his introduction, burst from his hand and was greedily sucked into the weapon, which began to laugh. The rust burst from the weapon, revealing a golden hilt and sharp, single-edged blade. The hilt darkened into gleaming onyx and sprouted vicious curves. The "mouthpiece" of the sword grew miniature spikes that resembled a fanged maw.

The weapon began to laugh even more maniacally, its spiked hinge clattering loudly against the hilt, as the blade, which originally looked to be made of mundane steel, took on a deep, burgundy hue and its normally straight edge became savage and barbed, with a sizeable hook, a less severe variant of a scythe's curve, at the tip. Tendrils of red energy shot from the hilt, wrapped around the blade, and crystalized into raw, solidified energy. Finally, ragged-looking strips of mahogany cloth replaced the white wrappings of the handle.

Louise stepped back in abject horror at the menacing aura of impending doom that ebbed freely from the transformed weapon.

"Sir Valen, what did you just do?"

"Hm?" he replied, holding up the sword dangerously close to her head. "I merely proved my point of how powerful this weapon is. In fact, I believe the newly transformed Derfflinger deserves a chance to introduce itself."

 **"You are, by far, the most unique partner…no… master, that I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, Valen."**

It paused.

 **"I am now Doomflinger, Necrotic Blade of the Gandálfr."**

Valen smirked again, before pulling the weapon away from a frightened Louise, who barely took notet of the weapons chosen title.

"And there you have it. Doomflinger, Louise. Louise, Doomflingr," he said, with a point of finality. "Now, we should return to the castle, no?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Valen watched from the stage, Doomflinger in hand, as a massive stone golem crashed into the treasury tower of the academy. He vaguely heard his master yelling for him to stop the attack. He grinned savagely under the shadow of his helmet and fed more dark energy into the enchanted sword. The various veins of crystalized energy wrapped around the blade began glow violently, inciting instinctual waves of despair throughout the student populace.

Without another thought, Valen jumped from the stage, making it shatter from the sheer force that propelled him into the air and towards the earthen titan that lay siege to the treasury. Despite his flashy approach, neither the golem nor its master had noticed him drawing his sword back fro a mighty overhead swing.

Valen felt the familiar feeling of the necrotized aura overloading his arms and weapon. He let out a primal roar as he swung down, releasing the built up power from his weapon in a beam of writhing shadows and screeching skulls. It plowed mercilessly through the golem, well beyond the academy walls, and into the surrounding forests in the distance, tearing a path clean through the dense trees before disappearing in motes of dark energy.

The Doomknight continued to fall through the sky and landed on the crumbling goliath, directly across from the mysterious assailant. Before he could attack the earth mage, several spikes jut out from the falling stone at the mage's command, stalling the knight long enough to escape. Valen growled and swung at spikes, reducing them to a course powder.

He landed on the ground with a deep crater, clenching his fist angrily. Louise and two of her insignificant classmates approached the edge of the crater, worried for his health.

He looked up at her, doomfire burning in his eyes.

"Louise, this does _not_ count as a failure," he ground out, picking up a magically reinforced piece of the tower wall. "The next time we encounter that thief…"

He crushed the stone in his palm with little to know effort.

"I will crush their very soul with my own bare hands."

His prediction was proven accurate with a lightly injured Louise as a witness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Valen glared at the suave man that held Louise in his arms. He didn't care that the princess had personally assigned the man. He didn't care that Louise was engaged to the man (much). What he did care about was that there was something _off_ about this man. The man glared readily back at him.

"Louise, I don't trust this 'familiar' of yours," the man spat out, using the word "familiar" like some kind of slur. "He reeks of evil, and probably isn't even strong enough to keep you safe."

Valen idly thumbed the hilt of the magical sword clipped to his hip. The sword growled at his side, angry for the sake of its master.

"Would you like to test me, _cradle-robber_?" the Lorian replied, retorting with his own barbing address.

"Very well, we will battle in the deck of the ship once the sun rises."

"Oh? Scared of the dark? I didn't realize the warriors of this land were such pathetic cowards."

The viscount grimaced and drew his wand.

"Very well! We'll fight right now. Be ready to lose, _familiar!"_

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Valen grinned smugly at the scuffed Wardes who sullenly stared back at him. Louise also sent several angry looks at her familiar as she tended to her fiancée's wounds.

"Ever since you did whatever in Brimir's name you did to Fouquet, I've always been weary of you, familiar," Louise snapped, eyes filled with distrust.

Valen studied her for several seconds before chuckling and turning his attention back to his sword, wiping off any dust or blood that clung to it. Out of the corner of his vision, he saw as Louise, continued to fret over the tiny scratches on the royal battle mage. He growled again, annoyed at his summoner's ignorance. He walked over and snatched the ring and envelop from the table next to her.

"Louise, you're clearly not in the right state of mind. I'll deliver this to Wales myself," he curtly stated, ignoring the petite girl's protests.

As though by fate, a mysterious cloaked figure crashed onto the deck of the boat.

"Wardes, it's time," the hooded man said calmly. Wardes simply glared at him.

"You really had to blow my cover now? I'm still working on Louise here."

The pinkette let out an indignant yelp, fumbling for her wand. Before she could draw it, the hooded figure snapped his fingers, making her eyes glaze over. Valen glared at the figure, the visage of another hooded figure superimposing over the robed man again, much like when he was first summoned. One word rang in his mind at the sight.

 _Traitor._

With a roar, he pulled his sword up for another viscous swing, but before he could complete his attack, he was struck in the chest by bursts of wind and lightning, sending him careening off the side of the ship.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Louise was snapped from her trance as she watched her soon-to-be-ex-fiancée stab the prince in the chest. Angrily, she whipped her wand out and cast a fireball at him. Much to her delight, a ball of fire actually burst around Wardes. Her celebration was cut short when a hand stuck out of the fiery explosion and snapped her wand in half.

"Louise, you stupid girl. Stop being such a hindrance."

The smoke cleared, unveiling an unscathed Wardes. He then pushed her to the ground.

"You should've just joined me, Louise. Now, I've got no choice but to leave you here to die."

He began to walk away.

"Don't worry. You'll die a loyal citizen, defending the prince under the banner of your princess from the nefarious Reconquista. I'll return home and report that you saved my life and maybe get a promotion… or more… from the grief-striken princess.

Louise began to panic as the doors of the church began to rumble and shake with the thumps of the angry rebels.

"Valen?! Valen, where are you?" she began to cry out in desperation. "I'm sorry. It wasn't my fault. They did something to me."

Wardes leaned against the doors smirking at her.

"I'm truly sorry, Louise," he said as he undid the latch.

That was his final mistake.

A bloody arm burst through the wood, pinning the square-leveled wind mage to the heavy doors, which began to get torn apart. Louise screamed in horror at the sight of the decaying faces of the rebels. The windows around them burst as Valen burst through into the church. He grunted.

"Dammit. I was late. Damn rebels."

He stepped in front of Louise, guarding her from Wardes, who struggled fruitlessly against the vice grips of the undead.

"You! What have you done?!"

Valen grinned, baring his teeth at the trapped mage.

"I did what I could to save the prince."

He looked over his shoulder and grimaced.

"I guess I wasn't fast enough."

He picked up Louise's prone form and placed her on the altar, next to the dying prince.

"At least I can complete one of my missions."

Valen reached into the shadows and pulled out a ring and a letter.

"Prince Wales, I come with a message from the princess."

He held out the ring, which formed a feeble bond with the matching ring on Wales's finger. The prince shakily grabbed the letter and held it to his face.

"I see," he stuttered out.

Valen looked at him, evaluating the prince's condition. He had potential.

"Would you like to join me, Wales? I sense something in you. You will be useful to me."

The two looked at each other, fading blue staring into burning ruby.

"I don't see what use I am to you, but I will give you my allegiance, as I have nothing to live for, and not much longer to live."

The Champion smirked as he turned around.

"Very well. It's a deal, Wales."

He faced the struggling Wardes, who had long since lost his wand.

"I'll kill you, scum. You'll never get away with this! I swear, on the noble name of Wardes!"

Valen responded with booming laughter.

"No. No you won't. You'll never get a chance."

The fire in his eyes intensified, flowing out of his visor in familiar wisps of energy.

 **"Kill him,"** he commanded, in a voice layered with pure power and authority.

The various undead let out angry screeches as they began to tear away at the traitorous mage. Wardes screamed in pain as his skin was torn from his body. Valen looked down at Louise, and was happy to see that she was still unconscious. She wasn't ready for this.

"You won't fall asleep, Wardes. I promise you. You'll live through every second of this up until the last inch of skin is torn from your wretched bones."

Once Wardes's screams ceased, Valen waved his hand at the legion of undead, dispelling the magic keeping them operational. They all collapsed, leaving a scene that resembled a gruesome battle. With that business done, Valen turned his attention back to the prince's corpse.

"Now, back to you."

Valen placed Doomflinger back to his holster and held his hands over Wales's heart. Motes of dark energy flowed from the shadows and corpses of the church. Black wisps bled into an angry red as the energy began to crystalize, forming an orb of pure doomed unlife. The orb shot into the dead prince's chest, absorbing his heart. Plating surrounded it, defending it from any possible threats. Ten fangs sprouted from the plating, five on each side, surrounding the newly formed Doom Heart, impeding others from reaching the gem. Gnarled ribs sprouted from the edges of the plating, clasping around the prince's torso, securing the source of life in place.

"Rise, Doom Lord Wales. Rise before your new lord."

The prince's eyes shot open, revealing windows of pure red energy.

"I'm awake?" he asked in confusion. "I'm alive?"

Valen looked down at him with a slight smile.

"In a sense, you are. In another sense, you are no longer human. You have transcended to another state of existence."

He gestured to the new addition to the prince's chest. Wales looked down and touched at the red crystal. He gasped at the sudden influx of information.

"I see. Well, thank you, for what it's worth, Overlord Sepulchure."

Valen laughed.

"Please, call me Valen. Sepulchure died in another world."

Wales simply bowed deeply in response.

"Now, I'm going to have to keep you secret for the time being. Keep to the shadows, and away from civilization, my first Doom Lord. I will visit you soon. Make sure to find a new outfit before then."

Wales smiled brightly before melding into the shadows, instinctually tapping into his newfound powers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Valen stared passively at the woman standing at the opposite side of the Vallière estate fields. This was Louise mother, and she, like all of the other nobles of this world, felt the need to test his strength for one reason or another. He didn't particularly like the fact Louise was to be on the frontlines of the oncoming war, but at the same time saw the necessity – both to her and to her country – of her involvement in the war.

"I'm ready to begin whenever you are, familiar," she asked slightly annoyed at the lack of action. Valen smirked.

"I always better at taking the initiative anyway."

Before Karin could even make a retort, she was forced to duck and roll as Doomflinger's shadowed edge threatened to cleave her in half. Valen wasted no time as he quickly swiped is sword to the side, releasing his signature burst of condensed darkness. The veteran mage quickly erected a shield of roaring winds, hissing as some of the malignant energy broke through and broke her flesh.

She grimaced as she called upon her signature attack. Large chunks of earth and any surrounding trees were uprooted as violent winds began to tear through the area. The magic influencing the gusts was concentrated so densely that some blades of wind were visible, even to the naked eye. Valen looked up to the sky, interested and grinned at the sight of a small hurricane coalescing in the air above him.

Then, the skies fell.

The clumps of dirt and wood scrapped and collided with each other as the wind lay siege to the warrior trapped within. Karin smirked and dispelled her spell, confidant that the battle had been tipped significantly in her favor. She frowned when there was no evidence of her opponent being affected at all. In his place was an orb of pure darkness, contained by a thin lair of red energy. It unfurled into a looming beast with large clawed hands and two massive spikes jutting from its shoulders. It glared at her with angry red orbs encased in a skull remarkably similar in design to the knight's own helmet. The beast let out a guttural growl from its covered mouth before deteriorating in countless wisps of energy.

"That was quite an attack, Karin of the Heavy Wind," Valen called out, his unscathed appearance providing a stark contrast to the destroyed fields around him. Without another word, he disappeared into his own shadow and reappeared in front of Karin. He slashed at her with his blade, but was readily deflected. In a show of superhuman reflexes and dexterity, he flipped the edge of his weapon and swung up cutting her through the chest. Much to both her's and the spectator's surprise, there was neither blood nor any visible mark to her body. She attempted to capitulate on this and tried to summon a powerful gust of wind to blow him away. However, the most she was able to conjure was a small burst, nowhere near the magnitude she was hoping for.

Valen smirked and jumped back regardless. Karin saw this as a trap and held her wand at the ready. He held the sword in front of him, channeling his dark energy into it. The air in front of him began to warp and distort before ripping apart, showing a portal to infinite darkness. Thirteen skulls flew out, propelled by trails of darkness, in rapid succession towards the duchess. She attempted to fly out of the way, but was unable to as tendrils shot out from her own shadow and anchored her to the spot.

Valen stabbed his sword into the ground and spread his arms out, making the skulls scatter and bombard the area around her. Karin couldn't help but feel thankful as she watched the landscape get decimated by the knight's attacks. She let out an instinctual gasp when the shadows around her legs loosen and disappear.

She was impressed. This familiar, no, this knight easily stood up to more than half of her power. Even more impressively, he showed little to no weariness or damage from her attacks.

"Knight," she called. "Remind me of your name."

Valen groaned. Damn nobles and their need for etiquette.

"I am called Valen," he replied, doing nothing in response to her approach.

"Hmm I see," she said as she walked around him, inspecting his armor.

"You are powerful," she continued, as though she were speaking of the weather.

"Of course."

"Tell me, Valen. What are you underneath your helmet?"

He laughed at her bluntness.

"Underneath my helmet, I am still me," he said, cryptically.

"I see…" she trailed off. "Would you mind showing me?"

The Strongest Doomknight hitched a breath. What would he be underneath his helmet? His entrance to this world marked his third reincarnation. Was he just another lich now, with a passive illusion making his lower face appear human? He internally laughed at how long he had gone without taking off his helmet and looking at himself.

Louise ran into the clearing in time to see her familiar grasp his skull-like cover with both of his hands. She mentally chided herself for never asking to see what he looked like without his helmet and blushed deeply at the sight.

He had an angular jaw and a thin-lipped mouth. His nose was straight and narrow, decorated by a scar that stretched from his left ear to his lower right cheek. He had slightly gaunt cheeks and high cheekbones. Slightly wavy locks of deep, blood red hair, which hung haphazardly over the left side of his forehead in messy bangs, framed his face. However, his most striking feature was his slightly slanted, piercing eyes. They were merlot in color, and glowed with the familiar red glow that regularly emanated from within his shadowed visor.

Karin hummed in appreciation.

"You are handsome enough. A bit thin, but that can easily be rectified. You're younger than I expected. However, that's hardly a problem."

She leaned back, cupping her chin with her hand before once again breaking the silence.

"Tell me Valen, have you properly been acquanted either of my other daughters? They are both single and of marriageable ages."

Valen fought the urge to groan as he drew at least a thousand parallels between this moment and his and Alden's first meeting with Lynaria's family. It would seem that his body had somehow regressed to his 20s. Right about the time he fell in love the first time. Damn.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Valen stood tall with Louise by his side as the entirety of Albion's military might approached them. He clutched his helmet in one hand and Doomflinger in the other.

"Are you ready Sir Valen? Any last words before we begin the defense?" Louise asked, idly thumbing her wand.

"Yeah, just one last piece of advice."

Louise perked up, hoping that the advice would improve their chances at victory. She yelped as red energy engulfed her. She pounded against the barrier, but was unable to break it.

"Valen, what is the meaning of this?" she cried angrily, glaring at her familiar, ignoring the approaching army. He simply smiled gently at her.

"Louise, live life to the fullest. Find someone to cherish with all your heart, someone who you'll protect with all your might. Only then, will you find true strength," he paused, and tightened his grip on his sword. "Just don't lose yourself in the process. Goodbye, Louise."

He turned his back to the void mage as she was catapulted back to their base of operations. Without another word, he donned his helmet, his eyes blazing with power.

" **Ready, master?"** Doomflinger asked, rattling with anticipation.

"Almost."

Dark energy burst from his hand as his shadows expanded.

" **Come to me, Doom Lord Wales,"** Valen commanded, lifting his outstretched palm.

Wales seamlessly rose from the swirling shadows, dressed in a crimson variant of his formal suit.

"You called me, Overlord Valen?" Wales asked, his glowing eyes glinting with excitement. Valen scoffed playfully.

"Of course," he said, glancing over at his companion. "And good job with the outfit. It totally screams 'DOOM.'"

Wales chuckled lightly, black winds swirling around his arms.

"I have one last mission for you, Wales. Assist me in this battle, and withdraw once the army is halved."

The swirling wind stopped abruptly as Wales's eyes widened in surprise.

"Valen, you can't just expect me to abandon you? I know that army, very intimately. Even if you are as powerful as I can feel you are, their sheer number and strength will eventually outlast even you. Please, let me stay with you."

 **"Wales, I expect you to follow my orders to the word,"** Valen commanded. "Besides, death is nothing to someone like me."

The prince turned Doom Lord simply bowed and chuckled lightly.

"Of course. How could I forget?"

 **"Gentlemen, in case you forgot, there is a massive army approaching rapidly, and your banter does nothing to delay them,"** Doomflinger cut in.

The three laughed one last time, before preparing their attacks. Wales floated in the air in a tornado of dark winds, tearing the ground beneath him apart. He pushed his arms forward, sending cutting winds into the army, tearing up scores of soldiers at a time.

Valen, never one to be shown up, pushed his energy into his shadow, making it expand exponentially.

 **"ARMY OF ALBION!"** he yelled, voice layered with necrotic might. **"TASTE MY** _ **VENGEANCE!**_ **WITNESS YOUR DOOM!"**

The shadows erupted around him, taking the form of a great dragon of darkness with glowing red eyes. It roared and unleashed gouts of black flames into the charging army, tearing apart both man and beast alike. The shadows then condensed around Valen, forming a coating of pure darkness. He slashed his sword horizontally, creating countless, pitch-black explosions to burst from within the army's ranks.

He grimaced when a brave and skilled Albionian Dragon Knight reached close enough for his steed to claw the Doom Knight across the chest. Ignoring the pang in his chest, Valen leaped onto the dragon and swiftly beheaded the knight, who unceremoniously fell to the ground. The dragon, sensing its master's death, began to panic and attempted to shake off the threat. Valen held firm and began to feed necrotic energy into the dragon through his blade, which was firmly planted in the beast's back. The dragon was sent careening to the ground as it lost control over its wings.

With a burst of dark energy, the mighty dragon was converted into a fearsome dracolich. Valen smirked as he slid into the position on its bare spine that he was so familiar with. He continued to smirk when he felt Wales leave the battlefield as he had commanded. He gently pet the dracolich on the back of the head.

"I shall name you Fluffy Jr., Dracolich of the Doom Knight Overlord Valen Pulchure. Come let us ride into battle."

Fluffy Jr. responded with a roar of agreement as it somehow pulled itself back into with rotted wings. Valen let out one last battlecry as he knowingly charged towards his own death for the third time in his life. He gleefully noted that this time he was sacrificing his life for an entire country, more than Sepulchure could ever do. With that final thought, he and Fluffy Jr. charged headfirst into the rain of arrows and sea of swords.

* * *

 **About the character:**

 **Name: Valen Pulchure**

 **Land of Origin: LORE (Land of Rising Evil)**

 **Source: Artix Entertainment games**

 **Valen is the man that would eventually become the villain known as Sepulchure from the webgames Dragonfable, Adventure Quest, and Adventure Quest. If you're curious about who he is, what he looks like, and his powers, feel free to look up "DF Sepulchure" or "AQW Sepulchure" on google web/image search and villains wikia. If you're too lazy to do that, feel free to review or PM me any questions you have.**

 **Doomflinger looks like a mixture of the cleaned/treated Derfflinger and the Necrotic Sword of Doom. I'll sketch out a rough of what I intended the weapon to look like... eventually.**


End file.
